Facebook IPO pricing values firm at $96bn
FACEBOOK last night valued itself at up to $96bn as it set out the pricing range for its hotly anticipated IPO.
In a new regulatory filing, the social network said it would seek to sell 337.4m shares at between $28 and $35 a share, raising up to $13.6bn in total, and netting founder Mark Zuckerberg, who plans to offload 30.3m of his shares in the IPO, a potential $1bn if it prices at the top of the range.
Even with the sale, which Zuckerberg plans to use to pay off a tax bill, he will still remain easily the largest shareholder in the company with his quarter share enabling him to control approximately 57.3 per cent of the voting power of outstanding capital stock following the offering.
Despite the hefty valuation – which puts Facebook almost on a par with Amazon in terms of market capitalisation –the valuation is lower than the $100bn anticipated and the $44 per share price Facebook shares sold for recently on private company exchange SharesPost. Analysts said the “conservative target” could be tactical.
“The (price range) will be a relief to some people who are concerned that they may try to take the highest possible price because of high demand….They will likely walk the range up,” said Sam Schwerin of Millennium Technology Value Partners.
Facebook’s pricing could increase if demand proves high when the firm’s investment bankers, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, start pitching the deal to investors in roadshows set to start on Monday. Facebook said the “lock-up” period, during which employees cannot sell shares after the IPO, would range from 151 days to 181 days.